[WWP 007- Chilly Gills] Fish Fishing for Fish

[Scaramouche Fandango]

Real Big Fish was enjoying her life on the seashore. The truth of it was, she was happy anywhere there were kin to be near and fish to catch. But the sea held a particular beauty – the open expanse of water she could see from the coast was something truly special.

If only she could explore its depths more thoroughly!

Her shuppy shape was a good one, but shuppies weren’t divers. They were sprinters, or whatever the aquatic equivalent of that was. Great at moving quickly over short distances, but actually fairly inefficient. Too much leg, not quite enough tail. Absolutely perfect for shallow-water cruises, though, and incredibly good for hunting trips. 

As she drifted off to sleep that night, lulled to unconsciousness by the in-and-out murmur of waves, she dreamed of something coming out of the sea. Fish, of course. Her favorite thing to dream about. These were round and fat and small and good, just delightful fish skipping across the surface of the water. Where had they come from? Where were they going?

She woke up with fire in her lungs and a knowledge that somewhere, hiding just past where she could normally swim, were those jeweled beauties. Her lungs hurt, though, which was strange. Almost like they were… dry. Crying out for water. She took a deep breath of the humid air and held it for as long as she could. Which was much, much longer than usual.

Oh hell yes. Without a second thought, Fish plunged into the water. She mentally screamed a quick thank-you to the Motherfather, and dove. Downward she swam, pawing at the water and putting all her strength into the dive. She rolled, pushing as much air as possible out of her fur, trying to make herself less buoyant. Turning her nose to the open ocean, she swam as far as she could, up to the point of exhaustion. She had energy for one more deep dive, and she wasn’t going to waste it.

This was it. The place she saw in her dream. Somehow, she knew there was a reef beneath her. Though the water was dark now, in the summer it would be clear and bright. It would be home to seaweed a-plenty and corals bright and cheerful. But for now, the plants were dormant, the coral… doing… whatever it was coral did when it wasn’t actively reproducing itself. That was beyond her knowledge. Her sphere of Knowing was how the environment fit together, not the inner lives of corals. Taking one more massively deep breath, she dove again, swimming into the darkness…

And seeing exactly what she knew she’d see. The lights of her eyes bounced off of shining scales. Fat, round fish, each one a gem. They were a massive school, migrating like a flock of birds. They were coming to the swamp. They had the dumbest faces she’d ever seen and she was immediately charmed. These were harmless. Not a predatory thought amongst them, content to graze algae off of rocks and bounce and flop, tempting every bird within a five-mile radius. They didn’t need to be sleek or sharp or anything other than what they were- they just needed to be fish. She was so very glad to have found them.